Mad Men‘s Elisabeth Moss has come a long way, baby! In 2005, just two short years before the hit AMC show premiered, the then-unknown Moss graced the small screen in an Excedrin commercial.

Now, the 28-year-old has been nominated for her second Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series as secretary-turned-copywriter Peggy Olson.

Last year, she was submitted for lead actress, and this year supporting. What was behind that decision? “I had a great season. But I thought that I had more of a supporting role in the whole picture. And they asked me which I wanted to do, and I was like, ‘I think I should do supporting this year.’ I just thought that was the right thing to do. I was actually really surprised that anybody noticed or cared. I’m flattered. But it wasn’t a super-calculated move. I just thought it was a better fit for me for season three.”

The Emmy nom is just as sweet the second time around.“Every time it’s very exciting. You never get used to it. It’s always just surreal, and I don’t ever expect it certainly. So it’s always incredibly exciting.”

Mad Men brought Moss her first award — ever.“The first award I got was the Peabody for Mad Men. We got the Peabody Award the first year. And each of us got one to take home. I didn’t ever win any spelling bees, but I did get Peabody!”

Watch out for Elisabeth having a snack in between commercial breaks.“You always have to have a little protein bar in your purse. The ceremony is like four hours, with the red carpet and everything — so it could be like a six-hour thing. And then it takes a while to get to the dinner afterward, et cetera. So it’s super important to try to carry a little something in your bag. I sneak and eat it during the commercial breaks.”

The person she’ll be sure to thank in her acceptance speech.“Oh, my mom for sure. My mom and I are really close, and she’s always supported me in whatever I did. She’s a wonderful woman and a wonderful mother. And she’s always been the person that’s been the closest to me and has supported me the most.”

She’s comfortable on the red carpet.“I think the hardest thing to get used to is just all the people yelling your name at once and trying to stay composed and not get flustered. I’ve always not had too much of a problem with it, but I’ve definitely gotten a little bit better at it.”

Getting decked out for awards shows.“I work with a stylist and she’s wonderful. As a girl, it’s really fun to be able to wear a pretty dress and diamonds and pretty shoes. I like to dress up. So for me, it’s just fun.”

The only downside to dressing up is dressing back down.“I remember wearing a ring once, I think, that was half a million dollars. And I was checking it all night long. I was pretty nervous about it. And the man came the next morning at like 9 a.m. and knocked on my door and took it back — it’s definitely hard to give it back!”